Help with enclosure Idea?????

[Kolorbl1nd]

Hi,
I Have a Russian Tort,Tanker. He is still pretty young, the vet guessed that he is a year old. I have a under the bed bin for him right now. I want what is best for him. I was thinking about making a enclosure that has two levels. I would make it so he has to go up ramps. From what I know torts have awesome balance and are very strong. I would make sure there was no chance of him falling out, there would be walls on the ramp and around the hole. The problem I am running into is what should I make it out of? Also is it ok for him to have a heat lamp and UV on only one level or should I make it so there are UV on both. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[lynnedit]

if you search for 'two level' tortoise enclosures there are some good ones on this site. Takes some carpentry skills.
You only need one UVB, the other level can have an incandescent basking light just for warmth on the other level, if needed.
I think the main thing with a two level table is access to the bottom level for the owner. Sometimes people make the upper level slightly smaller to compensate for this.

 

[Robert]

Our larger Leopard's indoor enclosure is two levels and has ramps. Princess Leia loves it!!

 

[lynnedit]

Yay! That is the one I was thinking of. It is so nice.

 

[Robert]

Thanks. The lower lever is very accessible. The entire enclosure is modular. The top level can just lift off it's frame, leaving just the lower level. All of the hides are just velcroed in place so they can be removed and cleaned. The ramps basically click into place and are all removable.

As you can see, I am no master carpenter and it looks pretty rough. Finishing work is not my forte. It is functional and we like it. It took Princess Leia a few weeks to get used to the ramps. We finally bought some green indoor/outdoor carpeting and that made all the difference. It is easy to clean and she is very comfortable going up and down.

A piece of advice, if you make an enclosure with ramps, make the ramps easy to remove and clean. The exercise of going up and down the ramps definitely promotes pooping!

 

[lynnedit]

Good advice, lol

 

[Kolorbl1nd]

Thank you so much, your advice really helped. I'll get started building it and I'll put pics up when I'm done! Thank you again. and great job!